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The Singaporean Rice Saga

Karachi wedding receptions are very different from those in any other region of Pakistan, as even though the bride and groom are (supposed to be) the main attraction, it’s the food that takes the limelight. A menu can either make or break a wedding, and you’d be darned if you selected something the guests end up hating; and don’t even get me started on the menu-bashing uncles and aunties who’ll torture you for weeks (and even months) to come!

Keeping in view the Karachiite’s mindsets, caterers try adding new and exciting dishes to their portfolios, giving the gossip-mongers something positive to talk about. ‘Fish with lemon sauce’ and ‘Chimichangas’ are two such recent inductions, but what really took the wedding world by storm a few years back was the in(ter)vention of Singaporean Rice (a.k.a. SR). Till today, seven out of ten weddings you go to will have this dish.

Since this dish is not available in mainstream restaurants, you either have to wait for the next SR wedding or make a batch at home; and then you turn to Google! Ever wondered why your Google search for a top-notch Singaporean Rice recipe always returns results from Pakistan? It’s because technically, there is not such thing as Singaporean Rice, at least not in Singapore! However during the course of my research, I did stumble upon a recipe for Hainanese Chicken Rice, a popular Singaporean staple dish that is miles apart, in taste as well as in presentation, from what we are led to believe is ‘Singaporean’ Rice.

Our caterers know that associating the word ‘Singaporean’ with a dish gives it an exotic, oriental twist, no matter how mundane it really may be. But origins aside, this is one mean rice platter, with each aromatic and creamy spoonful resulting in a taste blast, a wave of pure unadulterated pleasure, leaving your heart wanting more even if your stomach’s had had enough. Being an SR connoisseur, you have to take my word for it; this recipe that I’m about to share with you is perhaps the best SR recipe around and I’m sure you’ll believe me once you give it a try.

Ingredients

1 kg rice

1 bowl macaroni

4-5 boneless chicken breasts (cut in ¾ inch cubes)

1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste

6 tomatoes (ripe and medium-sized)

3 carrots (medium-sized)

3 capsicums (large)

1⁄4 kg cabbage

7 stalks of spring onion

20 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)

3 onions (medium-sized and chopped)

3-4 green chilies (thinly sliced vertically – remove seeds)

8 tbsp chili sauce

10 tbsp soy sauce

8 tbsp chili garlic sauce (only Knorr works best)

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

8 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp Chinese salt (msg/ajinomoto)

1 tbsp red chili powder

1 tbsp ground red chilies

salt to taste

cooking oil (for frying and cooking)

Method

Fry thinly sliced garlic in oil on medium flame till golden; set aside on a plate with a tissue to absorb excess oil

Fry sliced green chilies in oil till they have a nice and crispy coat; keep it with the fried garlic – let’s call this component A

Put 4 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the chopped onions till it becomes translucent

Add the black pepper and some salt, the remaining soy sauce and a dash of Chinese salt to the rice, and mix well; take it off the stove once ready – we’ll call this C

Boil macaroni and set it aside in a bowl – let’s call this D

In a separate bowl, add the remaining chili garlic sauce to the mayonnaise – we’ll call it E

Once you have all the components from A to E ready, take a deep serving dish and add a layer of the rice (component C) at the base

Cover this rice layer with the gravy (component B)

Add a generous amount of macaroni on top of the gravy (component D)

The mayo-sauce comes next (component E)

To finally bring the dish together, sprinkle some crispy garlic flakes and some fried green chilies on top of the sauce (component A)

Your Singaporean rice is ready to serve! As always, I hope you try this dish at home and enjoy it thoroughly. Also, it does have a slightly high chili content so you may adjust the spices according to your taste.